Yves Lampaert had no chance of a podium finish at Paris-Roubaix after he was involved in a nasty crash involving a spectator.
Several riders crashed or picked up punctures on the cobbles, which will feature again on this year’s Tour de France from July 1-24.
With 50 kilometres left, the front three of Frenchman Laurent Pichon, Slovenian Matej Mohoric and Belgian Tom Devriendt led by 50 seconds but the gap was closing quickly.
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Pichon was dropped but Dylan van Baarle and Belgian Lampaert joined Mohoric and Devriendt.
Heading into the final cobblestone section, Van Baarle surged ahead on the tough Carrefour de l’Arbre section as the crowd roared before Lampaert crashed heavily after catching the arm of a spectator on the side of the cobbles.
Lampaert got back up to finish 10th.
“Those are situations that should not happen in a race. It’s a shame,” Lampaert said.
“I wanted to cut that right turn and normally the supporters go backwards. But that man brought his arm forward and it hit my arm. As a result, I lost control of the bike and I couldn’t stay up.
“If you don’t know anything about the race, then stay at home. “For me, it was dramatic, because there was still a podium place at play.”
Meanwhile, van Baarle timed his attack on the final cobblestone sections perfectly to win the Paris-Roubaix race for the first time on Monday morning.
The 29-year-old Dutchman, who rides for the Ineos Grenadiers team, won in 5 hours, 37 minutes after 257 kilometres (159 miles) of gruelling racing. His average speed of 45.8 kilometres per hour (28.4 miles-per-hour) was a record.
Belgian Wout van Aert edged a tight sprint to finish second ahead of Swiss rider Stefan Kung in third — both 1 minute, 47 seconds behind Van Baarle.
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